Study Hard and Improve Every Day

"Tell me, what's been going on lately?"

Sitting in the empty dining hall, Bella cut into a sandwich while eyeing Jon critically.

There was hardly anyone in the dining hall at this hour. On Sundays, everyone slept until eight, and Bella had only gotten up so early because Ravenclaw had a magical alchemical device.

The alchemical device known as "Ravenclaw's Wake-Up Bell" had been created by several Ravenclaw graduates and was enchanted with a simple communication spell.

The device drew magic from Hogwarts Castle and operated through a magical wooden board behind the Ravenclaw statue, carved with the names of every current Ravenclaw student. If someone pressed a name on the board, a corresponding bell would ring in that student's dormitory.

The ringing usually meant that someone was looking for them outside, or that there was some important news to be conveyed.

So the moment Bella heard it, she hurriedly got dressed and came out.

She truly had not expected her little brother to be capable of entering the Ravenclaw Common Room on his own.

"Nothing. Things have been pretty good lately."

Jon took a bite of pie and replied through a mouthful of food.

Bella did not believe him at all. Whenever Jon had something going on, unless she saw it herself, he would never admit it. So whether or not he was hiding something from her, he was definitely hiding something from her.

"My business has nothing to do with you." Jon was not good at dealing with girls, so he usually did not interact with them at all. "You don't need to worry about me. I'm doing great. What did you call me here for?"

"I called you?" Bella froze for a moment, then remembered that she had indeed mentioned this to Cedric. Only then did she say, "It's nothing. I just wanted an excuse to say a few words to Cedric."

Jon's hand, which was holding the pie to his mouth, abruptly froze.

Right. He should have known. This woman had always been like this. Whenever something else caught her attention, her little brother would be completely forgotten.

"But you really haven't looked for me lately, apart from bringing me McDonald's. Oh, right, how did you get McDonald's? There isn't even a chain store near the school."

Jon rolled his eyes at her. "I bought it in Greenwich. I had my mother put it in a parchment bag with a Warming Charm and a Preserving Charm, then sent it over by Owl."

"No wonder. I was wondering how you could possibly buy McDonald's when you can't even leave the school."

A calculating look appeared in Bella's eyes. Jon did not need to guess to know what she was thinking.

"Forget it. Your aunt is pregnant right now. She can't keep running around outside." He poked the Mashed Potatoes on his plate with the silver spoon in his hand. "Besides, isn't the school food pretty good?"

"You think it tastes good now, but eat the same few dishes over and over for two or three years, and even someone who doesn't mind that sort of thing will get sick of it!"

"Perfect. Think of it as dieting."

Silence.

After a while, Jon heard a gloomy voice drift over from across the table.

"Oh? Are you saying I'm fat?"

There was no little brother in this world who did not get beaten by his older sister.

Jon rubbed his waist as he walked toward the library. He had mainly come out today because he wanted Bella to buy him a few things, since third-year students were already allowed to visit Hogsmeade village.

To make Bella help him, he had not resisted when she pinched his waist hard several times earlier—though he could not have resisted anyway, since Bella had bound his hands with a Binding Spell.

So this time, Bella had not only inflicted tremendous damage on Jon, but also given him a glimpse of the strength of Hogwarts students.

They were much stronger than he had imagined.

Bella claimed that she was only a middle-ranking student in Ravenclaw, yet she had already managed to use a Binding Spell in several different ways, greatly improving its practicality. Jon had never expected that.

Charms was a profoundly complex field of study—at least, it was for Jon. If used well, this subject often allowed people to gain entirely different kinds of experience.

Of course, that did not mean using the Disarming Charm to its absolute limit like Harry Potter. At most, that was just practice making perfect.

Helga had once told Jon that a skilled witch could create extraordinary effects even with the simplest spells, while a foolish witch, even after learning every powerful spell, would still be unable to break through the limitations of her own understanding and become a top-tier witch.

Jon understood that point very well. It was like studying: some people could earn good grades through rote memorization, while others could draw inferences from one example. Their grades might be the same, but what lay beneath them was worlds apart.

"Good morning, Madam Pince."

Jon smiled at the yawning Madam Pince, paying no attention at all to the helplessness she displayed.

Shouldn't a Young Wizard as devoted to learning as he was be welcomed by teachers?

"Are you trying to read those spellbooks meant for upperclassmen again today? I'm telling you, no."

Madam Pince looked at the little brat, who was even slightly shorter than she was. She had managed the library for so many years, yet she had never encountered such a troublesome student. For an entire week, he had tried every day to secretly read books reserved for upperclassmen, and he had succeeded several times. If the books in the Restricted Section had not been locked away, Madam Pince would have suspected that this Young Wizard intended to read those books too.

"No, Madam. I only came to read some history books today."

Jon smiled with perfect innocence. It had to be said, that expression was rather convincing on his face.

"It had better be."

Jon said nothing more and slipped into the library.

During the first week of term, hardly anyone came here to study, but afterward, more and more people started showing up, making everything less convenient.

Jon had been secretly reading upperclassmen's books here mainly to practice the Transformation Spell. His Transfiguration practice had recently produced some modest results, so he would not need to come here as often in the future.

And in another two weeks, once Helga began teaching him spells for concealing himself, he would be able to go to Ravenclaw's Study every night and begin his magical studies.

Just thinking about it made him a little excited. Being privately taught by a Legendary Wizard was treatment even Harry only received later in the story.

Today, Jon had come to the library mainly to look up a spell recorded in History of Transfiguration.

Jon placed the thick book on the table. Using the table as cover, he took out the notebook and pen from his ring, then pulled a copper coin from his pocket.

The coin was meant to help him think. Jon liked to spin a pen whenever he was thinking, but he had only brought one Steel Pen and had no spare. If he broke it while spinning it, the loss would outweigh the gain, so he used a copper coin instead.

Besides, what difference did it make what he spun?

"Okay, preparations complete. Time to start reading."